An artillery shell allegedly fired by the army hit a group of people celebrating Holi in a village in Bihar’s Gaya district on Wednesday, killing three persons of a family and injuring several others.

Gularved village, where the incident occurred, falls under Barachatti police station and is located at a distance of around 500 metres from a military firing range. The shell fell in the courtyard of a house where people were engaged in preparing Holi delicacies and playing with colours. The deceased have been identified as Govind Manjhi, 30, Kanchan Kumari, 27, and Suraj Manjhi, 18.

As the sound of the explosion jolted the village, the locals stopped the celebrations and rushed to the house and took the injured to nearby hospitals. Two of the seriously wounded have been admitted to Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital (ANMMCH).

“We were cooking for the festival when suddenly the explosion took place. Our ears and limbs became numb. We saw so many people lying around, bleeding profusely. We have been destroyed,” said Manju Devi, a member of the family that lost three people. Senior district administration officers rushed to Gularved to take stock of the situation.

“According to our information, the incident occurred somewhere around 8.30am. Three persons lost their lives while two of the injured have been admitted to the ANMMCH. There is an army firing range at Muffer nearby, where long-range and shortrange firing practice is done,” Gaya city superintendent of police (SP) Ashok Kumar Prasad told The Telegraph.

“It is not clear whether the thing that hit the place was a mortar or ammunition fired from a field artillery gun. However, going by the crater that has been formed, we are assuming it was a shell. Investigations have started. An FIR will be registered at Barachatti police station and senior district officials will conduct a probe because civilian deaths have occurred,” Prasad added.

Although the army has not issued any statement so far, sources said it had taken permission from the local administration and forest officials for a firing exercise at the firing range between February 19 and March 15.

“The army had also taken clearance from the local officials to conduct a firing exercise at the range between 8am and 10am on Wednesday. They had also informed the local chowkidar (village guard) about it so that he could alert the residents about the exercise,” a source said.

The Gaya city SP said the army officials had denied firing towards the village, which lay to the west of the firing range.

“The army officials have denied firing in the direction of the village. They claimed to have fired rocket launchers and 81mm mortars towards the east, and asserted that the shell that killed people in the village could be an unexploded one from some previous exercise. A joint report by the local administrative and police officials will unravel what had actually happened,” Prasad added.

Similar incidents have occurred in the area earlier. Residents of Gularved village said three persons had lost their lives in the last couple of years after being hit by bullets and explosives fired from the army firing range. This includes the death of 20-year-old Raghu Manjhi last year.

Around 15 days ago, a shell hit and damaged a house in Masandih village in Barachatti. Nobody lost his life in the incident.